639 
Il. Velocity of germinaton. 
Germination of spores is to be looked upon as a reaction to 
the favourable conditions of the nutrient medium. As will appear 
later on, this reaction can be very rapid at the beginning and is 
very sensitive either way: in a negative as well as in a positive 
sense. For when favourable and inhibitory influences coincide, the 
spores are not to be decoyed from their tents: they do not develop. 
It seems problable therefore that they permanently keep in touch 
with their medium, from which they are not isolated by their mem- 
brane as completely as is commonly admitted. 
According to Koc and others, who watched the process under the 
microscope, spores take rather a long time (one or more hours) 
to germinate. Still in this respect individuals differ greatly. When 
examining the suspended drop, we shall see after some time besides 
fully developed spores, others still in their original state, and, 
between these two extremes, others again in various stages of 
germination. 
We alluded to the possibility of indications of growth being given 
at the very outset. Wet‘), among others, discovered that after 
10 minutes’ sojourn in broth at 37°, out of 8600 anthrax spores 
only 60 remained resistant, when heated up to 80° for a short time. 
This rather surprised him, as he deemed it not likely that the greater 
portion of the spores should have germinated so rapidly and hence 
should have become vulnerable at a temperature of 80°. Yet, as also 
FiscHOEDER*) remarks, this is the best way to account for WEIL’s 
experience, which seems to prove that germination can begin very 
soon, when the circumstances are favourable. Similarly FrscHOEDER 
found in his microscopic observation of some spores, already after 
5—10 minutes, such alterations in their appearance and in their 
behaviour towards colouring matter as pointed to germination in an 
initial stage. 
The large spores worked with in my experiments on disinfection, 
published in this paper, were also now selected for my material. 
Their very size enables us to perfectly control the process of germi- 
nation. Their growth optimum is 37° C. 
The results I obtained, fully confirmed the observations of Wei. 
and Fiscnoeper. I agree with the latter, that the decrease of resistance 
towards heat after a short incubation in broth or serum at a favourable 
1) Arch. f. Hyg. Bnd. 39, 1901. 
2) C.f. Bakt. I, Bnd. 61, 1909. 
